May 05, 2008

My birthday sometimes falls on Mother’s Day. In the past this has meant that it is the Moms and I lining up at the hostess stand for Sunday Brunch at the fancy restaurant. Not my mom, however. My mom was born during the Depression and she felt that spending a lot of money on what was essentially just breakfast food was a total waste. Unless, of course, it was a buffet. Now a buffet spoke to her. It said ‘you will not leave hungry, you will get your money’s worth’. My mom’s favorite place for Mother’s Day brunch was the Crown Room of the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. The view and abundance of food was quite the spectacle to behold: silver bowls heaped with fresh red strawberries and mounds of whipped cream. The carving station held a huge baron of beef, a whole roasted turkey and ham on the bone. There was a station with omelettes being made to order. And for those of us who love pancakes there was an interesting concoction that I am sure was inspired by the classic English Trifle. At least a dozen pancakes about twelve inches in diameter were spread with a thick layer of raspberry jam. They were then stacked on top of each other in a silver bowl and topped with whipped cream. This gooey delicious mess was my favorite. My mom was crazy about the cold seafood display complete with an ice sculpture of the Golden Gate Bridge. I can still see her plate heaped with pink prawns and crab legs.

I can’t see an ad for a buffet without thinking of her. I wrote the piece below in her honor three years ago. I am reprinting it now because she passed away a few months ago and she is on my mind daily. She reminded me often that she would not always be around and that she thought about her own mother every day. I now know exactly what she meant.

My Mother’s favorite ‘dining experience’ has always been the ‘buffet’. As a child of The Depression, I think she is overcome with joy and relief when she sees dish after dish spread out before her with a sign that reads “Take all you can eat but eat all that you take”. Because it was a good way for a single mother in the 60’s to feed her child and herself inexpensively, my childhood was full of these buffets or, as we called them in San Leandro, “Smorgy’s” (short for smorgasbord?). Our favorites were the “The Pipers” on MacArthur Boulevard and the less expensive “Perry Boy’s Smorgy” on the other side of town in the Marina area.
Both restaurants were dimly lit except for the bright spotlights that hung low over the buffet tables. A tall stack of hot, damp white plates fresh out of the dishwasher marked the beginning of these groaning boards. After years of eating at various buffets I became a smorgasbord strategist, I knew that it was important to find a cooler plate or my Jell-O selections would melt before I got back to the table. Also, it was important to approach in stages. A plate heaped too high would find your slice of roast beef swimming in a pink pool of beet juice and salad dressing before you could eat through to the bottom layer.
The first trip to the buffet was for salad – chopped iceberg lettuce, slices of canned beets (the fancier Piper’s served them sliced julienne) all smothered under a big ladle of creamy blue cheese dressing. If the plate was cold I could load up on the lime Jell-O and cottage cheese mold. The second trip was for hot food – canned corn, mashed potatoes, gravy and crispy fried chicken. Finally a trip to the dessert table where two HUGE clear plastic Melmac bowls full of yellow pudding and brown pudding were sunk into a bed of crushed ice. You had to pay extra for drinks so we drank water.
After dessert, my Mother always made one last trip to the buffet. This is when she loaded up her plate with fried chicken thighs and legs. Back at the table, she would look around the restaurant to make sure that no one was watching as she wrapped each piece of greasy chicken in the white paper napkins she had hidden in her black patent leather purse. Still smiling, she snapped her purse shut, asked the waiter for the check and paid the cashier on the way out. Did the waiter see what was going on? She was never busted. No one ever said, ‘Excuse me Madam, hand over the chicken’. I remember being embarrassed but I also remember how fun it was to empty out her purse when we got home. And how delicious that chicken was. I hope that all they saw was a pretty young woman and her child dining alone. But if they did see her ‘slight of hand’ I know that they would have understood it for what it was. Not stealing, but rather just a single mother trying to figure out how to feed herself and her child one more day.

March 12, 2008

I always start off a chocolate tasting by asking the guests what their earliest memory of chocolate is. The majority answer ‘a chocolate Easter Bunny’. Here is my theory based solely on my family’s Easter Sunday tradition. We would dye hard boiled eggs on Saturday night and leave them for the Easter Bunny to hide. On Easter Sunday morning, after waking up the adults, we could start to hunt for our eggs and our Easter basket. My sister did a wonderful job of putting together our baskets with candy from SEE'S CANDY. Lots of fudge filled eggs topped with a pastel flower. And a chocolate bunny. The rule was no eating until the hunt for all of the hard boiled eggs was completed. And then there we were - children in our pajamas and bathrobes at 9 am on a Sunday morning with a big basket of chocolate on our laps. Was this heaven or what? And we were allowed one piece. And what kid wouldn’t try for the biggest ‘piece’ of all - an entire rabbit. The adults caught on to this trick real fast but not before we had gnawed the ears off of Mr. Bunny. So begins many a child’s life long love for chocolate. Delicious and sometimes forbidden chocolate.

And why no ‘first time’ memory of other holiday’s chocolate treats? While there might be chocolate Santas around on Christmas morning the focus is on the long wished for presents that Santa has brought, not on consuming chocolate. And a Valentine’s Day celebration is a day time affair with chocolate hearts traded with class mates. It is only on Easter morning that the consumption of chocolate is encouraged at such an early hour. So we hail Easter as the most chocolate holiday of all.

February 01, 2008

FOG CITY NEWS is a chocolate Carnegie Hall. If you are a player in the chocolate world you must play Fog City News when you visit San Francisco or you simply haven’t arrived. It is the one venue in the City that I can count on to run into any chocolate celebrities passing through town. Why is this so? It is all due to the hard work of proprietor Adam Smith. He has a discriminating palate. He knows the chocolatiers and confectioners. And they are pleased to make in store appearances to meet their fans. He also carries over 250 different kinds of premium, origin-specific chocolate bars imported from around the world. If you are seeking out an esoteric bar of chocolate that is proving difficult to locate there is a great chance that Fog City News will have it.

Their February In-Store Confectioners Appearance schedule is as follows:

This might be the year that you break away from the traditional red velvet heart-shaped box and dive into the fresh confections offered by these confectioners. Fog City News will receive their shipments just seven to ten days before Valentine’s Day, thereby insuring utmost freshness. Consider what a real chocolate truffle, made with fresh cream just days ago might taste like. Heaven.

December 23, 2007

Okay, so we are cheating just a wee bit. We are combining the last three days into one because somehow time got away from us and we are doing our best to maintain our culinary cool. This is that point during the holiday season where I throw up my hands and say ‘who cares if not every gift has a bow on it?’ (Both dog and husband run for cover). Quickly followed by the phrase ‘my glass is empty, please fill it’.

The gift I am proposing for these last three days is the gift of peace and calm that only you can give yourself and the ones you love. I promise, no one will really notice if the gift doesn’t have a bow on it. And if you haven’t had time to get the gift, give them a call and tell them you love them.

December 21, 2007

On the ninth day we take a nap so that we can stay up late and spend the evening listening to ONLY WILD WOMEN GET THE BLUES on KCSM 91.1 FM radio. This is the 15th year that Alisa Clancy and Kathleen Lawton have hosted this rowdy evening of blues and jazz. Always scheduled for the Friday before Christmas, the program begins at 9 pm. Put the kids to bed first as it can get raucous once these gals have had a couple glasses of fake pink champagne. While you are there, why not make a donation to support this commercial free jazz station – a great present for the jazz lovers on your gift list. Who knows, they may have a gift of chocolate for you in their gift give away!

December 20, 2007

On this eighth day of chocolate we would like to suggest that you get yourself over to the WARMING HUT at Crissy Field and check out their wonderful gift selections. Especially in the chocolate area. Hot Fudge sauce by MY LIFE IS FUDGE, the new 2008 Chocolate Guide to the Western United States (check out page 120 for my funny tale of paying for a cab ride with chocolate), and an assortment of chocolate packaged in beautiful tins depicting scenes from San Francisco.

December 16, 2007

For the truly devout chocolate lover may we present a very special offering from our dear friends at Holy Orders? The CHOCOLATE GIFT BAG contains the following:-One 1 pound box of Chocolate Fudge Royale made by the Brigittine Monk in Amity, Oregon-One 14 ounce box of Milk Chocolate Hazelnut Meltaways made by the Trappistine Nuns of Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey, Dubuque, Iowa-One 9 ounce box of Chocolate Coated Caramels made by the Trappistine Nuns of Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey.

Have you heard of HOLY ORDERS? They offer a variety of quality products (not just chocolate) made with love at monasteries around the world. Treat yourself to a ride around the LABYRINTH with Sister on her red tractor while listening to a Gregorian Chant. Sister is happy to be able to help her Bay Area friends by offering UPS Ground next business day delivery.

December 15, 2007

For those of you who will be spending this chilly weekend Christmas shopping in Palo Alto, why not treat yourself to a very special ‘Warm Me up’? QUATTRO RESTAURANT AND BAR in the Four Seasons Hotel has just introduced their Chocolate Bliss menu of hot chocolates for the holiday season to be served along with the lunch and dinner dessert menus. You sit back, relax and choose from six different housemade chocolate truffles using an assortment of the world’s finest chocolates. The truffle is served on a looped handled spoon next to an empty hot toddy cup. You place the truffle in the cup and your server pours in hot, rich milk. Stir and sip. With combinations like Amedei Toscano Couverture 29% White Chocolate with a hint of peppermint and crème de menthe you will be ready to face those long shopping lines.
And if you just can't get there this month, the menu will be offered through the end of January.

December 14, 2007

It’s time to bake. This special recipe made its debut on Culinary Muse two years ago. Last year it made its television debut as part of Karletta’s appearance on ABC’s ‘View from the Bay’. It was a hit with hosts Janelle Wang and Spenser Christian and it will be a hit with your friends and family. If you are looking for one great cookie to bake for holiday gifting, this is it. Package the cookies in a clear cellophane bag tied with a box and accompany with a box of MALDON SEA SALT and two bags of GUITTARD Semisweet chocolate chips. It will be the sweetest gift they receive.

December 10, 2007

By now you have probably guessed that our Twelve Days of Chocolate includes only chocolate and confections from our favorite chocolate folks. There is not anyone kinder in the confection business than Chuck Siegel. From the beginning of this site, he and his staff have been supportive of our chocolate endeavors. As a special treat to our readers, Chuck is offering you 15% off of your order. The deadline for ordering is December 17, next Monday. Hurry and send one of their very elegant edible boxes to your most important client. They will be impressed. CLICK HERE TO ENTER THE CHARLES CHOCOLATES SITE.

Editorial Policy

Our reviews are a highly personal view of what pleases our palate and amuses our sensibilities. There is no pay for play. You will only find us spending time with the chocolates and chocolate related books, links and people that tickle our fancy. If we can't find something nice to say, we just skip saying anything at all. No chocolate bashing here. Life, as we all know, is too short.